{Condition precedent} (Law), a condition which precede the
vesting of an estate, or the accruing of a right.
Examples for cases can but direct as precedents
only. --Hooker.
2. A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent;
hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign. [Obs.]
3. A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished
copy. [Obs.] --Shak.
4. (Law) A judicial decision which serves as a rule for
future determinations in similar or analogous cases; an
authority to be followed in courts of justice; forms of
proceeding to be followed in similar cases. --Wharton.
Syn: Example; antecedent.
Usage: {Precedent}, {Example}. An example in a similar case
which may serve as a rule or guide, but has no
authority out of itself. A precedent is something
which comes down to us from the past with the sanction
of usage and of common consent. We quote examples in
literature, and precedents in law.